Healthy plant based living

Month: April 2017

Cookies for breakfast! Or anytime 😊 So simple and healthy. Also a very forgiving recipe- hard to mess up! I have seen similar recipes with only bananas and oats, but I like adding in a few extra things for flavor. Customize the way you prefer.

A tip- these cookies not only freeze well, I actually like eating them semi-frozen (strange, I know)! Great on a hot day.

Optional add-ins include up to 1/2 cup of: vegan chocolate chunks/chips, cacao nibs*, nuts, raisins, other dried fruit, etc. I used a few of tablespoons of vegan dark chocolate and cacao nibs this time.

*Note: Cacao nibs are crushed cacao beans. They are like nature’s chocolate chips without sugar or artificial flavors added. They are rich, flavorful, and have a decent amount of nutrients, fiber, and protein. Very good for adding to cookies, topping smoothies, or in oatmeal. Be aware though, they can be a little too bitter for some people (especially those that don’t like dark chocolate), and a little goes a long way.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add the oats to a food processor and pulse briefly a few times. You want some oat flour, but you also want some larger pieces for texture.

Put the partially ground oats into a large bowl, and mix in the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Put the ripe bananas to the food processer, and blend until smooth.

Add the almond butter, flax/water mixture, and vanilla to the bananas, and blend until well mixed.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the oat mixture, and mix everything together.

7. Mix in any optional add-ins.

My dog intently watching the food as usual 🙂

8. Scoop the dough onto the parchment paper using a cookie scoop or a spoon, and flatten each cookie slightly so they aren’t too rounded. You will probably have to make a couple of rounds of cookies if they won’t all fit on the cookie sheet.

9. Bake for 13 minutes, and let cool before eating. These cookies are great for on-the-go!

Creamy pie that is sweet, but not overly sweet, with a rich chocolate flavor. No one will believe it’s actually good for you! Inspired by blog posts from Carrie on Living and Produce on Parade.

My dog always keeps an eye on food in the kitchen!

Ingredients for 1 pie, about 8-10 slices

Crust:

½ cup almonds

½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

½ cups rolled oats

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 Tbsp date sugar (or other natural sweetener)

2 tbsp ground flax seed

1 tbsp cornstarch or tapioca starch

¼ tsp sea salt

2 tbsp applesauce

2 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk

Crust dough before pressing into plate

Filling

12 oz silken tofu (extra firm recommended)

1 ½ cup pitted dates*

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup natural peanut butter

¼ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk

½ tsp xanthan gum (optional- for texture)

* To prepare the dates for the filling, I recommend placing them in a (microwave safe) bowl, covering with water, and microwaving for 1 to 2 minutes to help soften them and help with processing (drain water before adding to recipe).

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F, and lightly grease a 9 inch pie plate.

Add all the dry crust ingredients to a food processor until finely ground. Add in the applesauce and milk.

Press the dough into the pie plate and bake for 15 minutes.

Rinse/clean out your food processor.

Add all filling ingredients to it, and process until smooth.

Pour filling into the prepared crust, and smooth out the top, and bake for 22 to 25 minutes.

Tofu is very versatile, but can be scary for first-time users. This recipe is very simple and straightforward- great for an introduction to tofu.

Tofu BBQ Sandwich

4 servings

Ingredients:

16 oz package of extra firm or firm tofu (not silken)

1 cup barbeque sauce*

Directions:

Freeze block of tofu in package, and take out of the freezer to let thaw in fridge the day before you plan to make the recipe. This is not a necessary step, but I highly recommend it! Freezing tofu creates little ice pockets, so when it thaws, it is more porous, and gives the tofu better texture in recipes.

Take the tofu out of the package and drain off the liquid. The official way to “press” tofu if you don’t have a tofu press, is to place the tofu block between two cutting boards lined with paper towels to get rid of excess moisture. Here is my hack: Cut the tofu into four equal size pieces. Take one of those pieces, and hold it over the sink. Gently squeeze the water out of the tofu with your hand- like a sponge! You want to get as much water out as possible while maintaining the shape of the tofu (you probably don’t want it to be crumbly for this recipe). Repeat for each of the tofu pieces. Ta-dah!

Cut the tofu into ½ to 1 inch thick slices. I had a total of 16 roughly equal sized tofu squares. You can cut into smaller cubes if you would like.

Tofu before marinating

Place tofu into a container that has a lid, and add barbeque sauce. Close the lid and gently move the container all around to fully coat the tofu.

Let marinate for as long as you’d like- the longer it marinates, the better the flavors are absorbed by the tofu. For this particular recipe, I was a bit impatient and it only marinated for about 10-15 minutes (still good, but could have been better with more time!). You can even let it marinate overnight in the fridge!

When ready to cook, heat a non-stick skillet on medium.

Gently wipe off excess bbq sauce from a tofu slice with a spoon or spatula, and add tofu to the skillet. Continue with the other slices, making sure to keep the tofu in a single layer on the skillet surface (I ended up doing a few batches because my skillet couldn’t fit it all).

Cook the tofu squares for about 2-3 minutes per side, making sure not to burn. Remove from heat and it’s ready to eat!

To assemble:

Put tofu between two slices of whole wheat bread, and add more BBQ sauce to taste! Can also be made into cubes and put on salad, or eaten as is.

*If using store-bought sauce, try to find organic, oil free and refined-sugar-free varieties. A lot of brands use high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients. I also check labels to make sure there aren’t animal-derived ingredients. If you have some time, there are also some good homemade barbeque recipes like this one.